Home Care Fight for $15 and a Union!

Denver Home Care Workers Take Care of Denver

About

Colorado home care workers do essential, compassionate work – they take care of our families and loved ones. Yet they struggle to pay their own rent and put food on the table for their own families. Here in Colorado and across the nation, the demand for home care is exploding but the system doesn’t work for anyone. Workers can’t afford to stay in the profession, even when they desperately want to. That’s why home care workers and home care consumers are coming together to join the national fight for $15 an hour – a living wage, the right to form a union without retaliation, and a home care system that works for everyone. Home care workers in states like Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Washington organized and won higher wages and benefits. Colorado is lagging behind — now is the time to make home care jobs good jobs here in our state. Despite doing the work that allows older Americans and people with disabilities to live with dignity in their own homes, home care workers are paid so little they can’t afford to take care of their own families. That’s why SEIU, homecare workers, and home care clients are fighting for $15 an hour so home care workers can take care of their families, and continue giving the best possible care to their communities.

Quick Facts

Home care workers are among the lowest-paid workers in the country, getting paid on average $18,000 per year, despite working in one of the country’s highest-demand, fastest-growing occupations.

Home care workers provide daily support services like bathing, toileting, dressing, and preparing meals for older Americans and people with disabilities, allowing them to live with dignity in their own homes.

Taking 15 for $15

Part of the united home care movement is to encourage everyone to take 15 for $15 – take a 15 minute break to share why you support home care workers on social media networks. Write it on a sheet of paper and hold it up proud! Use the hashtag #take15for15 to be featured in one of our networks or email it to homecare15@seiu.org. Tag your friends and ask them to spread the word about home care workers. Film a 15 second Instagram video to share. Every voice matters! Not sure how to take a good pic or video? Follow these quick tips:

Hold the camera horizontal – they’re easier to share

Center yourself in the frame so we can clearly see your words of support or use a free online program to type your words of support of an existing photo

Put the sun (or lamp) in front of you – squinting isn’t fun, your face and words will be too dark to read if the light is behind you

If you’re filming a video, pick a quieter location and speak loudly so everyone can hear you

Amber Alvarado #Take15for15

Get Involved!

Take a photo and share why you support higher wages for home care workers. Tag it with #take15for15 on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Tumblr for a chance to be featured on one of our profiles.